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From: !
Newsgroups: alt.zen
Subject: Re: confused about zen point.
Date: 23 Nov 1995 05:01:45 -0800
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|what is the duality concept and how does it relate to zen?
the duality concept is the basic presumption that there is a fundamental
division within the structure of reality, and that this may be seen along
several channels or within the comparison among several irresolvable
pairs (good/evil; God/Nature; prakriti/purusha; mind/body; matter/spirit,
etc.)
the duality concept relates to zen in many ways depending on your particular
teacher or favorite zen stories. Nagarjuna taught that there were (at least)
two levels of truth: the ordinary and the esoteric. the ordinary works for
practical circumstances and is directly connected to the world of things.
the esoteric is the providence of the dedicated and curious. it works for
more abstract understandings/experiences of all things and is directly
connected to the world of ideas and principles. the former is objective.
the latter subjective. there may be generalizations among the esoteric
which do not hold in the ordinary world of things. there may be particular
applications of the esoteric principles in the world of things which the
limited understanding of the ordinary will not allow us to see or hear
several writers on zen break their cosmology into parts which occasionally
include dualisms, though these are typically not fundamental in their
division, the buddha-consciousness resolving all dualities within the
unmanifest and continual re-creation. pairs such as nirvana/samsara or
atman/anatman or dharma/adharma are sometimes interpreted very dualisti-
cally.
other zen teachers explain that these divisions are not lasting, even
while having actual existence. that is, while there is a definite
division between these things, it is ephemeral, will not last, and so
we may dismiss it as less than 'real' in this sense, not a truly strict
dualism
|...who should want to own or possess anything? Ownership and possession
|only create turmoil, because the owner must strive to maintain ownership?
the Old Boy said it aright, amassing of wealth creates thieves
|Is that the right idea?
there are no 'right ideas', even while we may find truth in quite alot of them